Belite Aluminum Ultralight Aircraft Cabin Construction, #5

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This post is #5 in a series of articles on how to assemble a Belite Ultralight Aircraft cabin using aluminum.

Post #4 in this series is HERE.
Post #3 in this series is HERE.
Post #2 in this series is HERE.
Post #1 in this series is HERE.

Let's jump right in...  It's looking more and more like a real airplane cabin all the time.

After deburring the top rear skin, clamp it in place:

Clamp the top rear skin in place.

Another view of clamped top rear skin.

Then proceed to clecos and riveting the skin in place.

Rear skin attached with rivets.

Rear skin fully attached with rivets.

If you haven't already, install remainder of rivets along each top side of cabin.  Please note and install extra rivets as shown in photo below.

Side rivets with extra rivets.

Now it's time to add the top side door skins.  Note how they UNDERLAP the star joint on each side.  Also note the windshield attachment piece in the following photo, it will be used a little later in the process.

Side skin and windshield attach piece.

Lucky poses.

Front of side skin, with star joint underlapping clearly visible.

Alignment of side skin, viewed from front.

Rear view.  If all is done perfectly, the rear  corner has a nice sharp corner.

Another view of side skin.

Star joint area.

Yet another view.

It's finally time to fully rivet the star joint.

Finally time to fully rivet the Star Joint!

Done for this afternoon...  more soon.

Teal Beauty Develops on New Years Eve

Please note: James' blog has moved to a Wordpress site. To access it, please visit http://jameswiebe.wordpress.com/. All posts have been transferred to the new site, and all new posts will only be accessible via Wordpress. Thank you for your interest!

Teal Beauty with big wheels.

New Year's Eve.

Hey, we worked today.

The boys and I went home early at 2:00...

Beauty emerges in a Teal color.

By the way, I'm not given away the big tires.  But they sure look sweet on Teal Beauty.

Aluminum Ultralight Aircraft from Belite, under construction

Tail of aluminum ultralight aircraft

Cabin of ultralight aircraft from Belite

Fuel deck on ultralight aircraft from Belite

Firewall goes here

And here is the view from the rear on an ultralight airplane from Belite

Quartering rear view, including tundra tires from Belite Aircraft

Everything you see weighed 86 pounds.  This plane easily makes FAR part 103 ultralight weight, even with the tundra tires.  But we'lll ship it with smaller tires....

Carbon fiber stabilator; amphibious Belite?

Please note: James' blog has moved to a Wordpress site. To access it, please visit http://jameswiebe.wordpress.com/. All posts have been transferred to the new site, and all new posts will only be accessible via Wordpress. Thank you for your interest!


We've been working on our carbon fiber processes... and in anticipation of some absolutely crazy stuff in 2013 (EG, an amphibious version of a Belite, for which we already have a firm order with deposit), some additional weight savings are necessarily on the development plate to accommodate the big amphibious floats in a legal Part 103 Belite ultralight aircraft.

So here's a sneek photo of Belite R&D:  a carbon fiber stabilator (combination elevator / horizontal stabilizer).

Carbon Fiber Stabilator, Lucky and Chance check it out

The important technical factors are:

Span:  about 100 inches (2.54 meters)

Chord:  30 inches

Effective area:  19.16 square feet (about 1.78 square meters)

Construction:  Carbon Fiber

Weight, as pictured:  about 4 pounds

Target weight, completed assembly with covering:  about 5.5 pounds (2.5 KG)

Airfoil:  NACA 0012, symmetrical

Target load capability:  approximately 240 pounds lift, representing full control deflection at yellow line speed (62mph)

(all information subject to change)

Benefits:

* Reduced drag - elimination of stabilizer support wires; lower coefficient of drag in cruise

* Reduced weight -- should save around 6 pounds (2.7KG)

* Better authority on takeoff roll (get the tail up faster) and better authority on landing (better flare at lower speeds, allowing safer landings and lower speeds)

Downsides:

* Expense of carbon fiber

* Engineering time

* Risk in testing

All the parts in the photo were designed on our CAD software and 'printed' on one of our CNC machines, the ShopBot.  We also manufactured our own carbon fiber panels, which were cut on the ShopBot in the various shapes.  We purchase the carbon fiber spars from a vendor.

The carbon fiber panels technical specs are as follows:

3K woven fiber, one layer each side

1/8" wood core

West Systems epoxy

Vaccuum bagged on glass

The final thought to chew on:  each carbon fiber rib weighs about 2.1 ounces...  that's 60 grams.